News
- Planetary Science
Solar craft reaches a new low
The Ulysses spacecraft passed directly below the sun on Feb. 7, looking up at its south pole, a feat the craft has done only twice before.
- Animals
Perils of Migration: New evidence that bats stalk birds
Big Mediterranean bats snatch migrating songbirds out of the night sky in spring and fall.
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Bridging the Divide? Technique sheds light on cleft palate gene
A new approach has enabled researchers to prevent cleft palate in mice genetically engineered to develop that birth defect.
- Earth
Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning
The lumps of glass created when lightning strikes sandy ground can preserve information about ancient climate.
- Health & Medicine
Taking Cancer’s Fingerprint: Rapid genetic profiling for personalized therapy
A new, faster way to identify cancer-causing mutations in the DNA of tumor cells may pave the way for the next generation of custom-tailored cancer therapies.
- Astronomy
On the Trail of Dead Planets: Dust ring around a white dwarf
Infrared observations have depicted the dusty vestiges of a planetary system dancing around a dead star.
- Health & Medicine
Clear the Way: Stenting opens jammed arteries in the brain
Using a tiny mesh cylinder called a stent, doctors can prop open narrowed arteries in the brain much as they do in the heart.
- Anthropology
Chimpanzee Stone Age: Finds in Africa rock prehistory of tools
Researchers have uncovered evidence of a chimpanzee stone age that started at least 4,300 years ago in West Africa.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s organic cloud
The Cassini spacecraft has imaged a huge cloud that engulfs most of the north pole of Saturn's icy moon Titan and could be a source of the moon's hydrocarbon lakes.
- Health & Medicine
Small tweaks prevent 1918-flu transmission
Just a couple of small genetic changes in a pandemic flu virus prevented it from passing efficiently between lab animals.
- Health & Medicine
Orexin-blocking pill speeds sleep onset
A new compound that inhibits the activity of the alertness-promoting brain peptide orexin shows promise as a potential sleeping pill.
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Terrorism sparks heartfelt aftermath
Although terror-attack survivors often rebound emotionally, their bodies stay on heightened alert long after such traumas, according to tests of witnesses to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
